Snippet 6b :-)

"It's good to be back, Pa," Rosie said cheerfully, pulling back and beaming at him and Kirk. "It was fun, but it's nice to be home."

*

"Greetings,"

Schaven attempted to make his voice low and solemn, but failed due to the smile that had made it onto his face by the time he reached his parents. He reached out to shake Rorek's hand, pulling forward to hug him afterward before reaching over his other arm to hug Spock. "Nice to feel a presence of calm intelligence again. I have a feeling I'm wise beyond my years."

"Quit bragging," Rorek said, peering an eye at him before winking. "You've gotten taller, son. What were they feeding you over there?"

"Oh, you know. Ash. Tar. Wood chips. Real Grade A cuisine," Schaven joked. "But - Dad, seriously. You should've written and told me you were balding."

"Very funny," Rorek said, roughly tousling Schaven's already-unruly black hair (a perfect mixture of Spock and Rorek - Spock's color and Rorek's tousled look). "You know I don't bald. And if I did, you should be scared, 'cause you'd be next."

"Ah, Sama, I feel so bad for leaving you alone with him for three weeks," Schaven pretended to sigh, reaching out to place a hand on his Vulcan father's shoulder. "I'll never go to camp again, I swear."

"Do not forsake increased knowledge for my sake," Spock said blandly. "It would only encourage his pride."

"Not possible, Sama. He's human, remember," Schaven said gravely.

"Right. Three minutes back and I can already see who's side you're on," Rorek said, giving his son a false glare before motioning toward the ship. "Let's get inside. We want to hear about everything."

"Everything?" Schaven said, frowning. "What - really? Like, about the guy that tried to bite my ears, and everything?"

Spock turned on him with a wide-eyed, surprised expression. "A human?"

"Yeah," Schaven said, giving him a slight grimace. "No offense, Dad, but humans are morons most of the time. At least, the ones at this age are. It took me five minutes to get him to back off. And it seems to be happening more than usual lately - you know, the ear thing. I can't wait until you can teach me the nerve pinch, Sama."

Rorek gave Spock a distinct, alarmed look.

Spock was the picture of innocence - not a trace of emotion. He nodded to Schaven. "I believe we shall begin lessons as soon as possible."

"I would appreciate that," Schaven said, beaming at him, before turning with the two of them to begin walking toward the ship. "I finished that book you gave me too, Sama. It was really - "

"Fascinating?" Rorek finished, raising an eyebrow.

Schaven scoffed. "No. I was going to say intriguing."

Spock raised an eyebrow at Rorek. "I sense jealousy in your tone, Rorek."

"And why would I be jealous, Spock?" Rorek said, glancing loftily at him. "You both know I am supremely the superior species of all of us. Bow to my greatness."

Spock looked seriously at Schaven. "A human's defense mechanism is to raise himself up, Schaven. Take note of this."

"Oh, yes, Sama," Schaven said gravely. "And note the distinct smugness of his facial expression, the way he puffs out his chest to resemble that of a pompous Earthen turkey..."

"All right, now you're BOTH asking for it," Rorek said, barely able to keep his facial expression in check. "You're just jealous."

Spock and Schaven exchanged almost identical glances before quirking an eyebrow at him.

Rorek turned away, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "I give up."

Schaven turned to give Spock a pleased smile, before walking beside him and into the ship's interior.

It really was good to be back.

*

"And, see? That's the water-skiing thing we did," Rosie said, holding out her hologram device again for her parents to see. "Funny, isn't it? I fell in twice, but then I got it. And Schaven - well, Schaven never messed up - but even he had some trouble in the beginning. You're moving really, super fast!"

"Damn camp instructors still don't have the brains to see when they're putting someone's daughter in danger," McCoy growled, looking at the hologram. "You could have broken any number of bones at that speed!"

"They would've patched me up just fine, Pa. 'Sides, it's kind of inevitable. You know how accident-prone I am."

"He knows," Kirk coughed into his hand. "...been muttering non-stop about it for the past three weeks, too. It was a miracle he still managed to perform surgeries at that rate."

"Aw, Pa, don't worry about me!" Rosie said, leaning in to hug McCoy cheerfully. "Nothin'll ever happen to me. 'Specially not at camp!"

"And your definition of that word is what, exactly?" McCoy grouched as she sat back up, looking at the hologram. "'nothing' my ass. They almost killed you already and you've only been there once."

"They didn't almost kill me, Pa," Rosie said assuringly. "I almost fell off that cliff by myself. It wasn't their fault."

Kirk blinked. "...you almost fell off a cliff?"

"Well, yeah," Rosie said, blushing slightly. "Remember the last hologram? I...uh...disappeared on the other side of that hill for a reason..."

McCoy looked at her with wide eyes. "You were climbing a CLIFF?!"

"Sort of," Rosie sighed. "We were supposed to take a lift up, but I kind of...fell out."

McCoy looked at Kirk with wide eyes. "You signed her up for this you - you horrible excuse for a father!!"

"Why d'you always say that I signed her up when things go wrong, and then say that you're all glad that YOU signed her up whenever things go RIGHT?!" Kirk exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

"Um - Dad, Pa..." Rosie tried to interrupt.

"She had fun. And she didn't die. Isn't that a GOOD thing?! I mean, think of all the stuff she learned!"

"Things that would have made no difference had she had a brain injury, or a spine injury, or anything else that could have easily happened on that damn trip!"

"But, Pa - " Rosie tried again.

"It's good for her to hang out with kids her age! And some risk is ALWAYS going to be involved. Guess what she'll deal with every day when she's in the working world, Bones?!"

"Dad, Pa, please stop!" Rosie wailed. "I had a good time, and I came out just fine. They could've fixed me up easily if I'd gotten hurt! Really, it was fine. Please don't be mad that I went, Pa. I really had a good time."

"It's not whether or not you had a good time," McCoy growled, still glaring at Kirk. "It's whether or not you are SAFE in that good time!"

"Well, in all fairness then, Pa, it was your idea for me to go, too," Rosie said, her voice quieting. "...you wanted me to learn to ride a horse and shoot a 20th century pistol...right?"

"Yeah, you did!" Kirk said, his eyes lighting up. "You DID want her to do that! Admit it, Bones. You're a FAN of camp!"

"A camp that didn't practically throw you off a cliff and drown you in the same week!"